Approximately 1850s–1860s, Johnson County, Indiana: A receipt from Andrew Jackson “A.J.” Vaught (1816–1901) to William Magill, either William Magill, Sr. (1785–1860) or his grandson William Carson Magill (1833–1900). From the collection of David Gray, now in possession of Joshua Tyra.

Here’s another highlight from my Vaught archive from Johnson County, Indiana. This is a receipt from my fifth great-grandfather Andrew Jackson “A.J.” Vaught (1816–1901) to William Magill, who was either my sixth great-grandfather (1785–1860, no known middle name) or his grandson, my fourth great-grandfather William Carson Magill (1833–1900). If the former, this slip of paper represents contact between William Magill, Sr., and the father of his grandson’s wife; if the latter, between William Carson Magill and his father-in-law; if the former, this receipt must predate February 14, 1860, the date of death of William Magill, Sr.; if the latter, then it could be dated anytime between the majority of William Carson Magill (1854) and his death in 1900. In my opinion, the handwriting, ink, and paper all seem to point to an earlier date, but since it is—maddeningly—undated (unlike the majority of the other receipts), I can’t say for sure which William Magill is. Here’s the transcript:

Rec of Wm McGill by AJ Vaught                                            

$2.20for SpringNo 610(th?)1.50
“   CardingNo 7420
“     “No 84(th?)20
“    SpringNo 877230
Making—$2.20

Since this is clearly a receipt for the carding of wool (apparently in the spring), it would be helpful to know which William Magill kept sheep and for how long. It would also be helpful to know between what years A.J. Vaught provided wool-processing services in Johnson County. And it might be helpful to understand all the figures here, some of which are a little cryptic: the ones on the far right are clearly dollar amounts, but the two columns to the left of that don’t mean anything to me. 10th? 4? 4th? No. 6? No. 877? I’m lost. Perhaps if I knew more about the wool industry in the mid-1800s, these figures would be more transparent. If anyone has any expertise in this area, I would love to have your input. I will certainly be visiting Google Books to explore 19th-century books on sheep husbandry. 😊

By the way, there is nothing remarkable in the spelling McGill for Magill: there are all sorts of variant spellings in the 19th century (sometimes used by the same person), including Macingill, M’Agill, M’Egill, MacGill, McGill, MaGill, Magill, and Gill.

The issue of A.J. Vaught’s literacy (or lack thereof) might be relevant here: I can tell from my collection that as late as 1844, he was signing “his mark” (an X) on promissory notes and receipts. I assume that he eventually learned to write, or at least to sign his name. However, I have no certain examples of his signature or handwriting in my collection. And since he may have easily had someone else make out this receipt on his behalf, the date at which he learned to read and write may be irrelevant to the dating of this piece.